Chapter Five
Rory awoke to the warmth of another person’s body curled in against his own. At first, he was confused. He couldn’t fathom who he was with or how they’d gotten wherever they were. Then memories from the day before came flooding in like a living nightmare.
He remembered pain. Blinding pain like nothing he’d ever experienced before. His skin had felt as if it was on fire. Something had been inside of him, trying to tear its way out. He knew how unbelievably impossible that sounded. Had it not happened to him, he would have called bullshit. But there’d definitely been something there. Something big. And hungry.
He glanced over at the sleeping form beside him and gave a soft curse under his breath. He was still having trouble piecing everything together logically in his brain. How he’d gone from wanting to tear off his own flesh to banging Natalie against the wall in the best sex of his life, he couldn’t comprehend. Something about her had called to him, had calmed him. Without her, he was fairly certain he would have unleashed something that would have torn their small little craft to bits. He was a good engineer, but he wasn’t certain even he could fix all the damage the beast inside of him would have done.
Putting his head in his hands, he gave another soft curse. He couldn’t believe he was buying into this whole werewolf thing. It was insane! And more importantly, how was he to deal with Natalie after last night? Awkward didn’t even begin to describe it.
Glancing over at her, he was surprised to feel attraction flare up inside of him at the sight of her sleeping form. There was no denying that she was a striking woman, but until last night, the thought of persuing a romantic relationship with her had never even entered his mind. They’d been completely different people. But, apparently, now they had one big hairy thing in common.
He groaned and returned his head to his hands. What the hell was he going to do? He couldn’t just ignore the … werewolf in the room, so to speak. Nor could he go back to treating Natalie like a distant coworker.
So what then? What did that all mean? Was he honestly considering trying to form a relationship with someone just because they’d had amazing sex? He glanced at Natalie’s sleeping form and shook his head. No, he couldn’t let his thoughts go there. Not only wasn’t he sure that was even remotely close to anything he wanted, he also had no clue what she was thinking, what she wanted. His best course of action was to get some breakfast in him and wait for her to wake up. Then they could sit down like two rational—and clothed— adults and have a conversation.
He nodded to himself, liking that idea. It was the most logical course of action. For both of them. With a loose plan in motion, he tugged on a pair of sweatpants and made his way to the tiny kitchenette to start coffee brewing. Not for the first time, he thanked the sudden ‘space race’ for making travel so much easier for the modern day astronaut. It wasn’t all zero gravity with toothpaste floating around in the air.
He chuckled at that mental image as he watched the coffee brew and trickle down into the mug he’d placed on the hot tray. No, things were so much more advanced. They had modern technology and the simple pleasure in life called gravity. The food still wasn’t the best because it had to be non-perishable, and the table was still bolted down to the floor just in case, but all in all, the place was kind of cozy.
His coffee finished percolating, so he snatched the cup up and spun to find Natalie directly behind him with her own little coffee K-cup in hand. He hadn’t seen her until almost too late and nearly ran her over.
Instantly, his body went on high alert. She was standing before him in nothing more than a baggy t-shirt. And when his mind caught up to the fact that it was his shirt she’d slipped into, it took everything in him to fight back a possessive growl. She stood before him covered only in his clothing, smelling soft and sweet and utterly delectable. And underneath that scent, he could smell himself on her skin. How was that even possible?
He ground his teeth together to fight back the invasive scent and mentally scolded himself to get his shit together. Acting like a damn caveman was not okay.
Natalie gave an embarrassed little titter and tried to move around him—just as he attempted the same. Like some cheesy chick flick romance movie, they both moved in the same direction. And awkwardly back in the other direction. It was as if their bodies refused to let them move past each other. If this was a football game, she would be the MVP of offensive linemen.
“I am—” He started to talk, but her voice mingled with his.
“If I could—”
As they gave one last attempt to get around each other, instinct kicked in and he figured the hell with it. He reached out and wrapped his free arm around her waist. Before he could question his actions, he pulled her to him and kissed her.
A soft squeak of surprise escaped her lips, but then she was responding. She made a pleased little sound and arched up onto her tiptoes, pressing her lips more firmly to his. An arm snaked around his neck and her fingers buried themselves in his hair, sending a tingle down his spine. Distantly, he heard her K-cup clatter forgotten against the floor as she released it to free her other hand.
Rory fumbled clumsily to set his coffee down, nearly spilling the mug’s contents all over the counter. Not that he cared even a little bit. Now that his hands were free, he plunged them into her long, dark hair.
She smelled so good. So good. Like his. He gave a growl at this and tugged lightly, possessively, on her hair. She was his. And he couldn’t resist her. The creature deep inside of him demanded that he claim her, that he make her realize she belonged to them.
She didn’t seem like she was protesting that claim, either. She was groping at him just as much as he was her. Her hands traveled over every inch of him she could reach, her nails tauntingly grazing his flesh.
He’d never been kissed like this. He’d been with passionate women before, but never to this level. This was more of a need than simple passion. She was the only thing keeping him from literally tearing out of his skin, and they both knew it.
He needed her like he needed air. He was beyond denying that. Something had changed in him last night. He still felt like himself, only … more. He was really starting to consider her theory, that the lycanthropy gene had been dormant in him his entire life. His calm nature had kept it at bay until this trip to the moon jumpstarted things. Maybe that serenity would help him keep control of it now, too. All he had to do was funnel his excess energy into her to take the edge off.
If he could keep himself under control for just a little while longer, they could survive this. They could make it safely home and then— He couldn’t think about what would come next. He had to concentrate on making it through the next few days. That was all that mattered.
“So we’re doing this?” he asked with a chuckle.
“Oh, we’re doing this,” Natalie confirmed with a giggle. “At least twice.”
He grinned against her lips, liking the sound of that. “Who am I to argue?” With that settled, he lowered them both to the ground.